Affordable Housing For Seniors, Veterans Approved In Doylestown Twp.

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA ? A proposal to bring senior and veteran affordable housing to the township cleared a major hurdle on Dec. 19.

In a unanimous decision, the board of supervisors voted to approve an ordinance amendment that will add the use to its limited industrial zoning district on North Broad Street.

The change opens the door to Arcadia Development and Pennrose Bricks and Mortar to submit plans to redevelop 280 North Broad Street, a parcel of land located in both the township and Doylestown Borough, with the affordable housing use.

Under the envisioned plan, the back portion of the site located in the township would be developed with 18 townhouse units and an affordable age-restricted 60-unit residential building that would be marketed to veterans.

The front portion of the property, located in Doylestown Borough and fronting on North Broad Street, would be turned into a public dog park that would be owned and maintained by Doylestown Borough. The property measures just under an acre.

The township's planning commission on Dec. 18 recommended approval of the ordinance change after reviewing several tweaks made to the language and definitions of the ordinance.

Those tweaks to the ordinance included the addition of new language that allayed borough concerns that the ordinance change would open up the Broad Street corridor to an avalanche of residential development.

Doylestown Borough officials had expressed concern last month over the "unintended consequences" of the change, adding that it could have led to as many as 1,340 new dwelling units in the corridor. That, they said, would have had a "profound impact" on the borough.

Following last month's meeting of the supervisors, land use attorney Kelly McGowan said the developer engaged with the borough in discussions, working out the new language of the ordinance and coming up with the idea of a proposed dog park for the borough's portion of the property.

"The dog park would not only be an amenity and be usable by the residential portion of the property but also the public," said McGowan. "We are hopeful that that addition will not only mitigate any impact on Doylestown Borough but also be an asset to the community," she said.

To make way for the new park, an older commercial building now located on the site would be demolished.

Deputy Borough Manager Phil Ehlinger said the borough supports the creation of the park, noting
that it will provide a public amenity while mitigating new trip generations had it been developed under the limited industrial zoning.

The proposal is the latest being put forward by Arcadia to develop the property, said McGowan. Original plans put forward three years ago by the developer called for 220 luxury apartment units at the site.

"We ended up going through three different proposals over the past three years in response to continued reactions to residential development proposals like 'it's too dense,' 'there's too much impact,' and 'it's not satisfying community needs," said McGowan.

Through a series of meetings with the township, McGowan said their attention turned toward developing the township portion of the site with affordable, residential housing marketed toward seniors and veterans.

"What this proposed ordinance does is it provides a use in the LI zoning district, which is in an incredibly suitable, walkable location to amenities, that will specifically serve a senior population," said McGowan. "The walk score for this property is 82 out of 100. Within that
area we have the senior center. We have retail. We have amenities that are all within walking distance. There's no impact on the underlying LI zoning district. This isn't anything other than an optional use to add to what is currently provided for your limited industrial district."